Recently, the use of electronic devices such as smartphones, tablet computers, and wearable computers has been increasing among consumers. These devices may provide a variety of capabilities such as data processing and communication, voice communication, Internet browser, multimedia player, game player, etc. In addition, such electronic devices may include a variety of applications capable of performing various functions for users.
For user convenience, conventional electronic devices often include a speech recognition function to recognize speech from users. In such electronic devices, a user may speak a voice command for performing a specified function instead of manually navigating through an I/O device such as a touch screen or a keyboard. The voice command from the user may then be recognized and the specified function may be performed in the electronic devices.
In conventional electronic devices equipped with a speech recognition function, a user typically speaks a predetermined keyword to initiate a speech processing application that can recognize a subsequent voice command and perform a function associated with the voice command. For example, the user may speak the predetermined keyword to initiate the speech processing application and wait for the application to be loaded. After the application has been loaded, the user may speak a voice command specifying a function of the application (e.g., an Internet search) to be performed. Since the time needed to recognize the keyword and load the application leads to a delay in speaking the voice command by the user, using a keyword and a voice command in tandem to perform a function in an electronic device may not be very convenient to the user.
In some cases, an electronic device equipped with a speech recognition function may initiate an application accidentally. For example, a user may speak a keyword as part of a conversation or discussion with another person without intending to initiate an associated application. Nevertheless, the electronic device may recognize the keyword spoken by the user and initiate the application. Thus, the user may need to manually terminate the application, thereby resulting in user inconvenience. On the other hand, if the user does not notice the initiation of the application, the application may continue to run on the electronic device.